CATHOLIC Health Australia chief executive officer Francis Sullivan says recent criticism of Catholic-run public hospitals was just another round of “anti-Catholic” bashing by disgruntled doctors and misguided politicians.
Mr Sullivan played down the threat to abortion, sterilisation and reproductive technologies from Catholic health sector growth across the country.
In a comment piece for the Catholic Leader, he said the Australian Medical Association (AMA) had been running an “anti-Catholic line” after its federal president Dr Mukesh Haikerwal said doctors wanted state governments to stop contracting to Catholic hospitals that refused to provide IVF, abortion and sterilisation.
Senators Lyn Allison and Kate Lundy bought in to the issue, saying it may be time for a parliamentary inquiry.
Mr Sullivan said it would be hard to find any public hospital in Australia that provided the full range of medical, let alone surgical services.
He said state and territory authorities entered into formal funding and service agreements with Catholic hospitals to deliver a range of mutually agreed services.
Mr Sullivan said whenever a Catholic hospital considered the purchase of another hospital with associations to services that would not be ethically acceptable, those issues were stated upfront in the tendering process.
Click here to read Francis Sullivan’s article
